Deep Sea Mining, Coming Soon to an Ocean Near You? - RESCHEDULED

Global demand for technologies like cellphones and laptops is increasing every year, and the transition to green energy is creating a need for more and new batteries. These both result in huge projected increases in metal demand which are now driving mining companies into the deep ocean in search of new mineral resources. We have known that the deep sea contains vast reserves of metals and minerals since the 1800s, but until now the economic pressures and required technologies have been insufficient for deep sea mining to begin in earnest. This is arguably one of the biggest, most important issues facing mankind at this moment marking how we will approach the transition away from fossil fuels and what ocean stewardship will look like in the future. In this talk I will present fundamental information on this global issue and present the latest ongoing deep sea research in relation to deep sea mining. The possible environmental impacts are vast and still poorly understood. The deep sea with both its fantastic and alien communities of animals and its mineral resources are legally the common heritage of all mankind, and so you, me and everyone on this planet are stakeholders in this debate.

Speaker: Astrid Leitner, UC Santa Cruz

This event is now scheduled for June 1, 2022